Deja Vu
by FBI Bones
Summary: Past actions you can accept the consequences of, not always gracefully but you can. At least on some level. Future ones? Now that’s a whole different matter... Alternate ending for ‘Unending’. DanielVala
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG1 or any of it's affiliated characters or locations._

_Summary: Past actions you can accept the consequences of, not always gracefully but you can. At least on some level. Future ones? Now that's a whole different matter... Alternate ending for 'Unending'._

_Spoilers: Unending! _

_Genre: Angst/Drama_

_Rating: PG13_

_Pairing: Daniel/Vala_

_Author's Notes: Now this… this was odd. Jess phoned me and we were discussing what the team got up to during those fifty years and Daniel and Vala having had a child that went back instead of Teal'c was the most mentioned of the few we came up with. She then challenged me to write something with it. I was dubious because originally we were looking at an adult that would be about fifty years old and… well that would have been odd. So I spent some time yesterday thinking about it - and in math today – hey what else is that class for? – and managed to alter it dramatically. So here it goes…_

_This was a nightmare to title! My sister ended up helping me :P_

Prologue 

"'Night Kaylee," Daniel closed the children's book softly, getting to his feet Vala smiled as she watched him lean down and kiss the little girl's forehead gently.

"Goodnight Kaylee," Vala echoed as Daniel put the book on the nightstand and flicked off the lamp, following him from the room as the doors slid closed behind them.

The only sound in the room was of her own heavy breathing and the rustle of the sheets as she moved her feet. Freezing as the sound seemed deafening in the darkness she waited until she heard her parent's footsteps fade away down the hall.

Once she was certain she could hear no more than the general buzz that was the ship running, she pushed the comforter back and slipped out of bed, her bare feet hit the floor with a soft thud and she stood still for another second before ducking beneath her bed to pull out her sneakers.

Opening the Velcro slowly she slipped the tiny shoes on her feet and tugged on her dressing gown as she clambered on to the chair by the door that meant she could open it with little difficulty.

Peering into the empty corridor she looked both left and right before slipping out of the room and turning the opposite way to that which her parents had gone.

The ship was huge, she'd spent enough time staring out of the windows of the spacecraft to know that, and the pictures that Uncle Cam and Auntie Sam had drawn her gave her a good enough idea to draw herself to the conclusion that she hadn't even been in half of the rooms her home had. Uncle Teal'c and toured her through some of the rooms when she had begged him too but none of the interesting ones; crew and captain's quarters, the Brig briefly and Auntie Sam's lab. Grandpa Hank had let her sit in his chair in the Bridge once but there was so much _more _to see.

* * *

"Kaylee in bed?" Sam asked, turning off the Thor hologram and turning to her friends with a barely audible sigh of frustration. 

Vala nodded and looked at the display Sam had been staring at when they had arrived "any luck?"

Sam shook her head defeatedly "not yet," she ran a hand through her hair, making it stand on end for a moment before she patted it down with a sigh.

She should be able to do this surely? It was complex sure, but she'd done things so much harder… hadn't she? As much as she loved Thor, his calm, yet completely unhelpful remarks were proving to be more irritating than she thought he could ever possibly be.

"You'll figure it out," Daniel said encouragingly, anything he might have continued with was cut off as the intercom clicked on and Cam's voice rattled through it.

"Sam! There's been an explosion in the engine room…!" followed by a rush of static as he breathed into it "Holy… I thought Kaylee was in bed! Get a med kit down here stat!" there was a click as he terminated the communication.

There wasn't even time for a clichéd shared expression of abject horror as the trio bolted from the room at break neck speed. Neither Daniel nor Vala looked back as Sam headed straight for the infirmary to get the medical supplies Mitchell had requested.

* * *

Kaylee was on the floor by the opposing wall to that where the explosion had taken place, the smoke was thin and spiralling away from it's source, a veil rising to the ceiling, as shards of debris littered the floor surrounding her. 

Cam knelt immediately next to the unconscious little girl. Her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, her face covered by the blonde-brown curls that fell over it. He touched her neck and felt his own heart skip a beat when he felt the thready pulse there, brushing aside her hair he flinched when he felt the warmth of blood against his fingertips. The gash that ran down the side of face, marring perfect skin, was deep and ugly.

"Kaylee!" Vala cried out, falling to the floor by her daughter, closely followed by Daniel "Kaylee!"

Sam was a step behind Daniel and pushed Cam aside, gesturing to the flames in the corner. He scrambled to his feet and seized the fire extinguisher, Teal'c taking the other, although it was hardly necessary.

"She was in bed!" Vala exclaimed as Sam checked Kaylee's pulse.

"Kaylee," Sam said loudly "Kaylee can you hear me?"

She didn't respond.

Daniel took the hand of her 'good' arm in his "Kaylee, squeeze my hand if you can hear me,"

Sam checked her pulse again "we need to get her to the infirmary," she pulled a gauze pad from the first-aid kit she'd brought with her and pressed it to the side of Kaylee's face, Vala took it and held it in place as Sam slid her arms beneath her and got to her feet.

Within mere seconds of lifting her Sam felt a warm wetness seeping through her top, twitching her fingers she felt the sticky liquid slid between them and tickle the back of her hand as it ran across her palm.

Vala's vision started to blur and the walls were closing in. Blood… Kaylee… Kaylee had been in bed, _she'd watched her fall asleep _how could this… There was blood on the floor too, her own hands, all over Kaylee… Daniel caught her arm, she could feel his tremors vibrating through her body along with her own.

She didn't notice Cam take the gauze pad and him support the head of her daughter as Sam rushed from the room as fast as she dare, her precious burden clutched to her chest.

* * *

Sam eased Kaylee onto the bed, swallowing thickly as she ignored the slipping of her blood-slicked fingers as she picked up the scissors from the tray nearby, cutting Kaylee's pyjama top swiftly and without pause. She nearly choked as she saw the metal embedded in her side. 

Kaylee's chest's rise and fall was irregular and her faint breath seemed to hitch as Sam moved as much fabric aside as possible.

Sam pressed the back of her hand to her head for a second to steady herself. Not wanting to look up as she could feel two pairs of eyes fixing her with a desperate gaze she was not prepared to face.

* * *

There should be music. Sad music that flitted down the corridors and echoed off the walls. Music always played. 

Her little girl. Perfect little Kaylee. With Daddy's eyes and Mommy's smile. Daddy's endless thirst for knowledge and Mommy's thirst for life. _Kaylee._

She upturned the table she'd been leaning on, sending a lamp shattering to the floor, papers flying everywhere. It helped for a half-second then that nauseating feel of helplessness hit her in giant waves big enough to drown in and yet too deep to swim.

She didn't jump when Daniel touched her hand, she simply turned and buried her face in his chest, his arms closing around her in an embrace that would never be tight enough and at the same time made her choke for a breath she could not take.

She tried to speak but couldn't find any words, besides sobs she did not know she was heaving prevented her from making any sound other than heartbreaking wails that made her throat burn and her head spin.

Daniel started rocking from side to side, whispering something into her hair that she did not try and hear.

_Kaylee._

* * *

Sam was shaking so hard it was a wonder she was still standing, she did not call out as there was no one to hear her, but muttered to herself anyway "charging…" she waited a lifetime for the panels to be fully charged before she pressed them to the deathly still chest in front of her. 

The line was flat.

She shook her head against the tears that ran down her cheeks and the ache that rose in her chest. _No_. "Charging," she snapped out, her voice cracked and her vision blurring to the point it was nigh on impossible to see.

Teal'c's hand caught her wrist and she looked up at him, she had not heard him enter, the expression on his face was devastating.

"I have to," she said firmly, "I _have _too,"

Teal'c's dark eyes were sad and sparkling brightly in the infirmary lights. He moved slowly with his free hand and turned the heart monitor off.

"I have too… I have… she… I've only been… oh!" a sob broke her off as she caught a look at the clock. Ten minutes. Ten minutes... for ten minutes Kaylee had been… no! "oh my God…" the panels clattered to the floor and she stumbled back against the wall, her still gloved hands flying to her face as she slid down it, her eyes fell closed and the sobs took a firm grasp on her chest, clawing at her lungs and squeezing her heart.

The line was flat.

* * *

Everything slowed, words held no meaning and expressions of sorrow were useless. 

Vala could hear a roaring in her ears so loud it hurt, a scream burst from her throat but she could not hear it. Sam's mascara had created wet black streaks down her face. Even Cam's eyes seemed to be overly bright.

"I tried…" Sam spoke quietly, her voice raw, "but Teal'c… it was too late… he stopped me… I'm so sorry…" she burst into new tears and Landry stepped forwards, hugging her carefully.

Vala launched herself at Teal'c then, fists flying as rapidly as the tears "you!" she pounded his unmoving chest "you! She could have saved her! She could have saved her!"

Teal'c didn't even flinch against the barrage of blows bouncing off of his body. His eyes fixed straight ahead; he did not even try and stop her.

"Vala!" Cam hauled her back "Vala, it's not his fault! It's _nobody's _fault!" he struggled to keep her away from Teal'c as she writhed in his arms, still throwing wild punches.

"He stopped her! He stopped Sam from saving her! She could have… she could…" she stopped "Kaylee!" she keened, her eyes squeezed shut and slumping against her captor "Kaylee!" she wailed her daughter's name long and loud into her friend's chest as he crumpled to the floor when she did.

Teal'c looked to Daniel who was sat in the chair he had collapsed into upon hearing the news. He hadn't made a sound, hadn't moved, just stared ahead as if he could not hear nor see what was going on around him. Silent tears slid down the jaffa's face as Daniel turned his head slowly to look at him and blinked once, a haunted expression of desperate pleading in his eyes.

* * *

The room was quiet, the only sounds were of ragged breaths Vala wasn't aware of taking. Her head resting in the crook of her elbow as it rested on the pillow next to Kaylee's head, her free hand finger combing silky curls that framed her face like a halo. 

Daniel's position much the same on Kaylee's other side, expect he was holding her hand. He was muttering something to her but Vala couldn't hear it and didn't strain too.

Vala started swaying her body in her seat humming under her breath, a simple tune she remembered but could not place, shifting her head forward slightly she briefly touched noses with her and kissed the chilled forehead "love you baby," she whispered, then after a moment she lifted her head as she heard Daniel's breath hitch "Daniel?"

He either didn't hear her or ignored her "I'm sorry Kaylee," Vala heard him breath hoarsely "I'm so sorry,"

She didn't try and talk to him again, just rested her head back on her arm and watched her daughter with unblinking eyes. It didn't matter if she stayed awake all night, didn't matter if she stayed awake all week. It didn't matter.

The line was flat.

_Review if you want more – I swear it doesn't stay that sad. :)_


	2. Charades

_Disclaimer: A lot of the speech (okay MOST of) in this chapter is from the episode, I do not own it. _

_Author's Notes: Wow, I see this kinda hit off then? Well I would have started this next chapter soon had it not been for the fact I had to try and find an 'Unending Transcript' unsuccessfully I might add, so I spent my Sunday watching the episode again (I got it in tape) and writing it – it took about six hours including the hour I spent on Friday writing it!_

Chapter 1: Charades

Kaylee should have been forty five today. Vala found herself thinking as she poked her food absently, Daniel looked at her and she smiled tensely and continued to eat when he smiled back briefly then looked away.

The commissary was silent and much as she would have loved to have said something, anything to break it she found she couldn't. Fifty years together there are no secrets, nothing hidden. You couldn't even have sex on the ship without at least one of the others giving a knowing look over breakfast, or at least that's how it had been so long ago. Now, now it was as if everyone had given up.

There were times when the silence was so loud it was deafening. If she'd thought Daniel didn't smile enough before this… adventure, she was certain he'd done more than he did these days. Cam no longer made silly jokes at every given opportunity, Sam seemed so depressed it was worrying at times, and Teal'c… Teal'c was as always; strong, silent, unmoving.

It was if everyone had grown weary of this life, their bodies ageing long before their time and their minds eager to follow suit because this ship, this place…

"When I said I wanted to get the team back together, work with you guys, learn from you, I did _not_ mean every waking moment for the next fifty years." He took his seat next to Vala, his movements stiff even as he tried to hide it.

"You said that yesterday," Daniel said slowly.

"I did?" he seemed to be the least lifeless at the table.

"And the day before," Teal'c intoned gravely.

"And the day before that," Vala added.

"Oh. Sorry." He froze for a moment, the room was silent for another second "I'll just shut up now."

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Daniel apologised, it was impossible to tell whether it was sarcastic or sincere, not that it mattered.

And the silence reigned again. It was a ghost, a blanket that bathed the room. It was like sticking her fingers in her ears but worse, because instead of a chatter that was impossible to be rid off, it was an incessant buzz. It hadn't been so annoying fifty years ago. She hadn't liked it but it hadn't been like this.

There was chink of cutlery as Sam put down her knife and fork "I did it." She avoided looking at any one of them.

"You did what?" Cam asked when no one else did.

"I figured out how to reverse time in a localised field,"

Vala and Teal'c both put down the knives and forks simultaneously.

"What?" Daniel turned to face her, patience in his voice but his entire body was tense.

"What's the matter?" Vala pressed when Sam was silent.

"Maintaining the time dilation field for all this time has almost completely depleted the ZPM and the power source in the Asguard core,"

Cam sighed and slouched in his seat slightly but not enough for anyone who hadn't spent so long with him that they could tell his every movement just by the situation "we don't have enough power to make it work?"

"There's irony for ya huh?" Sam joked as Cam got to his feet and moved to stand by the window, seemingly in deep thought.

"I create the field to buy us more time, I finally figure out how to undo it all and that extra time is what makes it impossible,"

"Are you sure? I mean if you had some more time could you-" he realised only after he had said it how stupid that sounded in comparison to what she had just said.

"I'm sure,"

Cam suddenly spoke up, "hey Sam. Do you… Do you remember when we were stuck out of phase?"

"Which time?"

"When you got shot, and you thought you were gonna die and the Ori were gonna destroy that village,"

"Vaguely." Sam said sadly, memories of a time before… this. She'd thought she was good, not brilliant and she wasn't arrogant but she wasn't insanely modest either. She knew what she could and could not do. Or at least she thought she had.

"You had me use the power source from an Ori staff weapon power Merlin's device." His voice jerked her out her reverie of self-blame, she mentally kicked herself for it.

"We don't have anything even close to the power source that would be required to keep a reverse time field working for long enough."

"Really?" his tone of voice made her look at him, a small frown creasing her forehead as she tried to figure out where he was going, he walked over and took her hand and she let him lead her, unresisting to the window "come with me "what about that?" he pointed at the blast from the Ori ship, considerably closer than it had once been, but moving at such a slow pace they weren't in danger from it for a good thirty or forty years at least. They'd all be dead by then anyway, she mused.

"That… there's no way we…" her eyes widened. Was there?

* * *

"There's no way to absorb the blast and channel the energy into the Asguard core." Sam stated without pause, her expression serious, the lines at the corners of her eyes creasing further when a tiny frown creased her features.

Determined to make her continue, Cam prompted "unless…"

She took a breath, unless, always an unless, always an if, a maybe a possibly… maybe if she'd tried that in the first place then they wouldn't still be here… she cleared her throat discreetly "unless we re-route the power conduits throughout the ship into the core and let the blast hit us."

Well that looked like an attractive scenario; suicide.

"The ship will explode." Vala whispered.

"Yes," Sam sounded slightly to okay with that for Vala's liking. "But hopefully enough energy from the blast will be channelled into the core to allow it to activate the reverse time field before everything is totally destroyed.

"But we'll all be dead." She muttered, she glanced at Daniel has he took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, they shared a brief look before turning their attention back to Sam as she continued.

"If this works we'll only be dead for a few milliseconds and time within the bubble will reverse, and we won't be dead and the ship won't be destroyed."

"If this works?" he hadn't really meant to say it, he had faith in her, Sam would do it, she would fix this…

"Yes. I'm not promising anything."

"That's all right, it's a shot, and I say we take it." He put as much encouragement into his voice as he could muster because of all the things they had gained through their time on this ship, they had lost enough too. Kaylee, General Landry, and Sam seemed to have lost much of her confidence in herself.

Kaylee should have been forty eight today.

They could… if… was it possible? Kaylee, little Kaylee, blue eyes, silky curls and a smile that could light up a room, lying broken and bloody on an infirmary bed, as pale as the sheets she was lying on and as cold as the room itself.

_She wasn't sure when morning came, it was impossible to tell. The only light was from the ship itself. There was no sun to rise, no stars to twinkle. Everything on this ship was fake, artificial; none of it was real. The oxygen they breathed, the food they ate, the gifts they gave and the clothes they wore. They could have anything they wanted and at the same time they had nothing at all._

_It might never have been morning, it could have been days, it felt like years. She blinked and with the dry sting it brought she knew it had been a while since she had done it last. She didn't have to lift her head to see Daniel, he hadn't moved since she had last looked at him, whenever that had been, his lips were moving but no sound was coming out, his fingers stroking Kaylee's hand; it was stiff. And his eyes, instead of their usual sparkling blue, were grey and sad._

_Vala jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, raising her head she felt every muscle in her body protest but it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Kaylee was gone – no, no she wasn't. She was still there, she was still touching her, she was still… still. Kaylee was still, unmoving and cold in a world she had once been laughing and warm._

"_You need to come with me," Cam's voice was harsh, even as he tried to keep it warm and quiet it seemed to be loud beyond all reason._

_She shook her head as he pulled her to her feet, the chair toppled as she stumbled around it and it clattered against the floor. She didn't have the energy to fight him, her limbs were heavy, her head was filled with a fog that allowed nothing to escape and everything to ache._

"_C'mon," he coaxed, pulling her a little harder and they left the room but she refused to go any further._

_She watched as Sam called Daniel's name and he lifted his head wearily; the efforts that of a man who had long since given in to despair. She pried his fingers from Kaylee's hand and held both of his in hers, looking him straight in the eye for a moment._

"_Kaylee?" she heard him whisper, his voice rough and croaking._

_Sam didn't say anything, Vala could see her eyes fill with tears that she was stubbornly refusing to let fall, with Daniel still staring desperately at her Sam shook her head slowly. He sobbed then, just once, tears followed soon after and within seconds Sam's arms were around his shoulders._

_Vala felt Cam pull her into a hug, and she heard someone else start crying also, noisy sobs and wails that took her a few moments to recognise as her own. They were barely muffled by his t-shirt as she twisted fistfuls of it into her hands. It was dark blue, almost black and generated by the matter-converter. Fake._

_Everything had been fake._

_Except Kaylee._

_Kaylee had been real._

"How far back can we go?" she asked quietly, feeling Daniel's hand tighten around her own and she could sense him staring at her although she refused to acknowledge it.

"Only too the point where the time dilation field was created. We can't reverse time for the entire universe if we go back any further than that we are outside of normal time-space again and we create a paradox that the technology couldn't handle."

"Is that going to be good enough?" Daniel asked.

Sam hesitated then said slowly "I might be able to buy us a little more time. Maybe a minute but… one of us is going to have to stay old."

"Oh."

"Oh." Cam echoed.

"We're talking about reversing time within the field, everything, our age, our memories, will be undone."

"If this works, we'll be doomed to repeat history." He couldn't do that, not again, even if he wouldn't remember the 'first' time, he couldn't watch Kaylee die, or General Landry, couldn't watch time pass yet again, each second that passed waited through with that overwhelming sense of helplessness that had haunted them all for so long.

The Asguard Knowledge Base had been interesting, intriguing beyond anything he could have hoped for and it had confirmed old beliefs, started knew ones and enhanced open everything he already knew and in fifty years he had barely even scratched the surface. But it had still never been able to drive away that guilty feeling that he should have been able to do something.

They had all tried to help Sam, even Mitchell. They had all spent the equivalent of weeks in that lab but it never worked, Sam would smile encouragingly every few hours, tell them they were a great help but they all knew the truth; none of them could help her, even she had struggled to understand some of it.

"Unless we can exclude someone from the field who can steer events in another direction." Sam's words were said slowly and well pronounced, traces of trepidation in her voice.

"You created the time dilation field to prevent us from being hit by that blast in the first place, you had no choice." Cam assured her.

"Right," she agreed with him "we have to severe the Asguard core from the hyper drive controls or else the Ori will be able to follow us when we make the jump into hyperspace," she paused before continuing, "a long time ago, in the event that I ever did solve the time issue, I created a program that would achieve that very quickly. I'll load it onto a crystal. That way it will only take me few seconds to shut down the core and make the jump into hyperspace."

"Who says it's gonna be you?"

"It makes sense that it be me."

Cam sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I will do it." Teal'c spoke.

Everyone turned to face him.

"Teal'c you've lost as many years as the rest of us." Daniel said.

"What are you? A hundred and thirty now?" Cam teased.

"I don't know, he doesn't look a day over one-twenty to me," she flashed the Colonel a tiny smile that he returned, both looking back at Teal'c when he continued.

" I have many more years to live. I am the only logical choice."

"Teal'c?" Sam seemed uncertain of what else to say, it was hardly sufficient but what he was offering to give up, to do for them…

"I have but one question; if this should not work…" he left his question hanging, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Then the shields will fail… and you will die along with the rest of us."

Teal'c nodded serenely, leaving no possible room for argument.

"Kaylee," Vala spoke softly after a few minutes, the name a whisper and the effect of such a simple word was instantaneous.

The uncomfortable silence that followed was accompanied by Daniel letting go of her hand, she suppressed a flinch when in the corner of her eye she saw Daniel tense.

"What about Kaylee?" Sam asked nervously.

Vala looked her straight in the eye "we can save her,"

Sam opened her mouth and closed it again several times, unsure of what to say.

"We can save her," Vala said firmly, her jaw set, and her expression firm.

"I… I don't… Vala…"

Daniel looked up then "can you do it?" he challenged, raw emotion flickering to life in his eyes but other than that he remained perfectly calm.

"I… Teal'c would be going back to the time of the…" she swallowed "accident, I don't know how accurate that would be. Jumping back to when the time dilation field was formed is easier because it's already programmed. It would mean..." she looked at the jaffa stood in the corner "Teal'c going back to that time and picking up Kaylee. I'd have to make a new crystal with another programme on it that would allow the me in that time to jump back to the time when the field was made."

"What's to stop the her… you," Cam corrected himself "from using it for them… us, to go back then?"

Sam pulled a face "that's a problem…"

"We could just write them a note," Vala offered.

"Would you listen?" Cam looked at her "if, forty odd years ago Teal'c walked into the room and said 'your daughter's going to die' would you let him take her back in time knowing full well you would never see her again? Or would you want to go with him?"

"If the choice was to watch her die then yes," Vala replied stubbornly, glowering at him in a way that once looked petulant, but the sheer severity of both their situation and topic of conversation made it nothing more than a plea.

"I will convince the SG-1 of that time that for me to go alone would be the most prudent course of action," Teal'c stated.

"How?" Cam challenged.

"That is not of your concern Colonel Mitchell,"

Slightly thrown Cam tuned back to Vala "you'll have her again anyway," off Sam's look "won't they?"

"By Teal'c going back he's not so much altering this timeline but making a new one. In that one Kaylee may never be born,"

"Can you save her?" Daniel asked again, needing a definitive answer.

Sam waited, catching Cam's eyes for a second "yes,"

"Then it is settled."

_Author's Notes: Yep, there's another chapter :) I saw three episodes of 'Firefly' at the weekend and have since watched 'Serenity' for a second time (makes much more sense now – almost funny to remember the first time I was watching it Jess was pointing out some things that seem so obvious now) - I now seem to be unable to stop watching MalInara fanvids or listening to the songs they were made too :P_


	3. Second Chances

_Disclaimer: Again, you know I don't own it, I know I don't own it… life is unfair but that's how it is._

_Author's Notes: Easter break at last! Then six weeks 'til study leave, eight weeks 'til exams, and… wow, time really does fly in retrospect don't it? Okay, I don't mean to pun…_

Chapter 2: Second Chances

It hadn't been a conscious decision but it had happened all the same, one would have thought that in their possible last moments they would want to be together but in actuality that wasn't the case. They'd spent their entire lives together, grown old as a family and, Vala thought morbidly, it doesn't matter who you're holding hands with, you still die alone.

The lights weren't on, what was the point anyway? They knew the ship backwards, forwards, upside down and inside out, there was no one other than the five of them on board and it would take hundreds of years for any body else to join them.

"I want you to know… even you are gonna forget, that I wasn't with you all these years because you were trapped on this God awful ship," the sentimentally of his words were lessened only slightly by his insistence over his description of the ship and Vala smiled "I was with you because-"

He didn't need to finish, "I know and I want you to know that I-"

"I know…" he whispered, smiling at her softly "I know…"

* * *

When the Prometheus had been built she had been a wonder. When the Odyssey had been built she had been amazing.

Now the ship was nothing to him.

The reason the Stargate Programme had been created was to find new technology in the fight against the Goau'ld, then when the Goau'ld had been defeated it had been the Ori but either way it was still technology they were after. What he wouldn't give to actually have to walk to the store on a cold winter morning because the car wouldn't start just to buy the milk for his cereal, instead of a few buttons being pressed and voila.

The ship had seemed huge, enormous but half a century of jogging up and down the same halls it made him claustrophobic some days.

Sam's voice broke through his reverie "we're ready,"

"Do it Sam," was all he could say.

* * *

"Do you think Teal'c will be able to save Kaylee?" Vala asked, as Daniel's arms tightened around her upon Cam's order.

Daniel could not think of an honest response to that and so simply kissed the top of her head firmly and waited.

* * *

Teal'c flexed his fingers around the two crystals he held, the shield was shimmering blue surrounding him and with one last mental bid of good luck to his comrades and friends he took a breath and held it.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Cam screeched to a halt as he saw the tendrils of smoke drifting into the hall as he jogged past, he pounced for the radio "Sam! There's been an explosion in the engine room…!" he blinked twice, hard, as he saw a shadow on the floor "holy… I thought Kaylee was in bed! Get a med kit down here stat!" he released the radio and scrambled over to the injured little girl.

"Shit, shit, shit," he chanted under his breath as he collapsed next to her, her arm was into a position his had made it's way into when he'd fallen out of a tree house when he was seven; it had taken both his parents and a nurse to hold him still when the doctor had put his shoulder back in it's socket. He touched her neck and released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding when he felt a light thumping against his finger tips.

"Kaylee!" Vala cried out, falling to the floor by her daughter, closely followed by Daniel "Kaylee!"

Sam was a step behind Daniel and went to push Cam aside but Teal'c caught her arm, preventing any movement forwards "Teal'c?" she asked "I need to-"

"You do not Colonel Carter," he said firmly, there was a darkness in his eyes Sam had never seen before, they looked older, wiser than they ever had and despite the situation she was transfixed; a streak of white ran through his hair and she opened her mouth to ask when Vala cried out.

"She was in bed!"

"She's bleeding badly Sam-" Cam said, taking Daniel's jacket as he passed it to him with shaking hands and put it beneath Kaylee's head.

"There is not much time," Teal'c released Sam's arm "she must come with me,"

"What?" Daniel exclaimed "why?"

Teal'c ignored him and stepped towards Kaylee.

"Dammit Teal'c! We don't have time for this cryptic-" Mitchell snapped as Sam dropped to the floor next to Kaylee and felt for a pulse.

"Kaylee," Sam said loudly "Kaylee can you hear me?"

She didn't respond.

Daniel took the hand of her 'good' arm in his "Kaylee, squeeze my hand if you can hear me,"

Sam checked her pulse again "we need to get her to the infirmary," she pulled a gauze pad from the first-aid kit she'd brought with her and pressed it to the side of Kaylee's face, Vala took, shooting Teal'c a dirty look for a brief second before she held it in place as Sam slid her arms beneath the little girl and got to her feet.

"She will die," he said, the closest to earnest Teal'c ever got, the concern in his eyes was evident but his expression as stoic as a warrior's should be "Daniel Jackson," he turned to the archaeologist "you must permit me to take her,"

"How… how'd you know?" Cam stammered, he could Sam paling as she twitched her fingers and blood soaked her palm.

Vala swayed and Daniel seized her arm, pulling her closer to him.

"In forty-three years time Colonel Carter will discover a way to reverse time to the moment the time dilation field was created. I am from that time. Kaylee Jackson will die before morning if you do not permit me to take her with me," the expressions on his friends faces were enough to make his stomach twist itself into knots, despite that fact he refused to let his desperation ebb into his voice "Daniel Jackson-" he tried when nobody said anything.

"Where?" Daniel said when everybody turned to look at him "where are you going?"

"To the moment the time dilation field was created," he repeated seriously.

Vala looked at Daniel, the expression on her face a mixture of treacherous disgust and another of agonising desperation. He gave a discreet nod.

"What?" Vala shrieked "no! We need to-"

"Are you sure?" Daniel ignored her, his face white.

"I am certain,"

"Sam," Daniel prompted the blonde after a moment.

Still shocked Sam hesitated for a second before stepping to Teal'c who took her fragile cargo into his arms.

* * *

"I'm going with you," Vala said as Sam entered the crystal into the computer.

"You cannot," Teal'c stated.

"Why?" she snapped tearfully "why not?"

"Vala," Sam said touching the other woman's arm gently, hurt when she snatched it away "if you did…" no reason she could give would possibly sate the brunette and she knew it, she could barely get her head around it, not so much the 'why' but the 'how'.

It would take her another forty years to be able to fix this, and even so the paradoxes that would be tempted, the equipment that would be strained and the problems she would have to overcome and bypass would be inexplicably difficult and as for Kaylee…

Kaylee would die. In the future or a future that would have diverted itself from the path they were now taking she already was. Sam refused to think about how much guilt was weighing down on her at the thought that it would be her fault because she couldn't save her.

They couldn't go back with him because it was already risky enough for Teal'c to go. Kaylee was badly hurt, the on-the-spot first aid had proven to be extremely temporary, she had lost a phenomenal amount of blood and her injuries were severe. If she stayed Sam knew she would most likely not make it. It would be hard for Daniel and Vala, hard beyond what she was even capable of imagining for them to know they would never see her again, they would never know if Daniel's decision had been the right one but Teal'c was their friend, had been for sixteen years and she could tell, just by the tears that were making his brown eyes sparkle, that he was telling the truth.

She had watched him suffer when he had shared his symbiote with Rya'ac all those years ago, and even though she knew it could well be their only chance to study a Goa'uld she and Daniel had handed over the symbiote they had stolen so as to save his son. Teal'c was, even if he was unaware of that fact, attempting to repay them.

Kaylee was a fundamental part of everyone's lives. The family dynamic SG1 had been famous for, for years was as good as literal now. As bizarre as it sounded General Landry was like a father to them at times, Cam had become almost as much of a brother as Daniel had and Vala was like her sister, and best friend rolled into one and Kaylee… Sam had performed the emergency C-Section with a finesse she did not know she possessed, Cam had become an on-the-side midwife without even realising it and Vala had insisted every one of them be present.

Kaylee meant more to them than anyone outside of the team would ever know.

"Vala," Daniel entered the lab, approaching Teal'c, a piece of paper in hand "give this to Kaylee," he said, the words 'if she survives' didn't need to be said.

Teal'c nodded and took the paper as Daniel touched the top of Kaylee's head before stepping back, his reluctance evident.

"You must destroy the crystal Colonel Carter," Teal'c stated.

Sam nodded with difficulty and glanced at Vala when she heard her sob once, Daniel gathered her in his arms and stood, silent tears running down his face as Teal'c looked at Sam pointedly.

With one last look at Kaylee she activated the shield.

_Author's Notes: That was a little detatched I think, but that was because even though I went into Sam's POV I wasn't supposed to be thinking about how Daniel and Vala would react just how Sam, mainly Teal'c, would given the circumstances._


	4. Cross My Heart

_Disclaimer: I'll be glad when I can say safely that everything in the chapter is mine speech wise, unfortunately that chapter is not this one… some is modified slightly to fit into context._

Chapter 3: Cross My Heart

The ship shuddered under the force of the blow from the Ori fire, and Daniel pushed himself back upright as he was thrown half out of his seat by the latest hit.

"Shields are offline!" he looked at the screen then out of the Bridge window.

"One more hit will take us out!" Cam said, it needn't be said but stated it anyway, funny how they're finally given the damn technology they thought they needed and yet it was probably going to be the last thing that they would ever got because the Odyssey was not invincible, as much as it seemed given how many scrapes she'd gotten out of.

Taking on board what the Mitchell and Daniel had reported Landry opened a radio channel "Colonel Carter!"

* * *

Sam struggled to her feet, the last hit had thrown both herself and Vala to the floor, with no time to check on the other woman she used the control panel to pull herself upright, just as she was about to activate the time dilation field Teal'c's hand caught her wrist and stopped her from doing so

"Teal'c? What're you doing? Oh my God!" she exclaimed catching site of the bundle in his arms.

* * *

"That was a close one," Cam sighed a breath of relief as they made the jump to hyperspace, the final blast from the Ori ship barely grazing them.

Daniel just looked at him as Landry spoke down the open channel "Colonel Carter are you and Vala all right?"

"We're fine sir," she reported "Daniel I need you in the infirmary,"

Landry raised his eyebrows as Daniel got to his feet and went to do as his friend had asked "Sam?" he asked, concern lacing his voice, avoiding looking at the General.

"Infirmary Daniel, Carter out,"

Daniel glanced at Landry and Mitchell before heading straight to the infirmary, barely five seconds later the other two men were on his heels.

* * *

"What happened?" Vala asked, rubbing her head absently as she got to her feet.

Sam ignored her "who is she?"

"Kaylee," he said stoically "Colonel Carter she is badly injured, I fear she will not-"

"Colonel Carter are you and Vala all right?" Landry's voice came through the radio.

"We're fine sir, Daniel I need you in the infirmary,"

"Sam?" Daniel's quizzical voice came through.

She didn't have time to explain, "Infirmary Daniel, Carter out," she disconnected the channel and turned to Teal'c, gesturing for him to go ahead.

The jaffa's pace was so fast she and Vala had to jog to keep up. Sam's mind was spinning, none of this was making sense, two minutes ago they'd been under heavy fire and she'd come up with the only plan that seemed to keep them alive at the time; somewhere in those two minutes Teal'c's hair had suddenly started to go white and a critically injured little girl had appeared in his arms.

"Get her on the gurney," she said, she knew a little first aid, as much as they taught you in training and bits and pieces she'd picked up from Janet but no where near enough to do what was necessary to help… Kaylee.

"What happened?" Daniel said as he hurried over to the bed "who's she?"

"Kaylee," Sam said faintly, giving him a look that said she was about as much 'in the know' as he was. "pulse is weak," any concerns she had could wait, for now they were alive, and what mattered was keeping their newest passenger that way as well, "Daniel I need some gauze and strapping, I need to stop this blood flow, Teal'c I need an IV, get me a shot of morphine as well."

Daniel finished putting the oxygen mask on Kaylee's face before retrieving the items Sam had asked him for, the heart monitor was on before he'd got back.

"She's so pretty," Vala murmurred as she watched the proceedings, both confused and concerned as she glanced at the monitor "those numbers… they're getting smaller," she gestured.

"What's going on?" Landry demanded but seeing the group around the bed, moving with an efficiency only SG1 could put forth he stopped.

"What the…?"

"Not now son," Landry cut Mitchell off with a look.

"Come on Kaylee," Sam muttered under her breath as she attached the IV and hung the saline bag on the hook by the bed, she injected the morphine into the pipe to ease the pain the child was inevitably in.

The beeping of the machine ceased it's repetitive beat and the long drone was not something anyone wanted to hear "no, no, Kaylee come on, come on sweetie, don't die on us," the crash cart appeared by her side and judging by Cam being the one to step back he'd been the one to provide it.

It only took two charges to bring Kaylee's heart back into a regular beat and a unanimous sigh of relief was audible as Sam and Daniel set about trying to stop the blood flowing freely from Kaylee's wounds.

Teal'c watched with his jaw set. It was happening all over again, he'd watched it happen once, and he'd nearly watched it happen again; Kaylee Jackson's chances were not great and he knew that but, like the rest of his Tau'ri friends, she had become part of his family.

As a warrior, and First Prime of Apophis he had shed the blood of his so called enemies, and shed nearly as much of his own but it was never the same when it was someone he loved. He'd shown it to Rya'ac by displaying fury at his antics the first time the boy had come home injured from fighting with another boy.

But even as it was an expectation for Rya'ac to learn to fight, and to train, he would rather teach him himself, or have Master Bra'tac teach him. Brawling with his friends, as Rya'ac had learnt that day, was unacceptable behaviour. His injuries, although not severe had shed enough blood for Drey'auc to insist he stay in bed for the rest of the day for fear of concussion.

"You okay Muscles?" Vala asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, the undecided fate of the little girl had affected her as much as everyone else.

"I am fine," he stated, before leaving the infirmary altogether.

* * *

"I've got her stabilised," Sam said as Landry nodded for her and Cam to take their seats at the table they were having an impromptu briefing at, "but…"

"But what?" Vala asked "she's going to be okay isn't she?"

Daniel swallowed, "her heart stopped another twice after you'd left,"

"We did what we could but… without knowing who she is and what happened to her I can't do any more. We should be back at the SGC within the hour. Doctor Lam will be able to do something more then but…"

"She still might not make it," Cam said stiffly "I hate it when it's kids,"

"We all do Colonel," Landry turned to Teal'c and Sam "what exactly did you do?"

"Teal'c just… showed up with a crystal, it had all the information I needed,"

"I am from the future," he stated, ignoring the stares that invoked "Colonel Carter was going to create a time dilation field to save this ship."

They looked at Sam who nodded her confirmation "the Asguard Core has time dilation field technology built right into it, it was quick and easy option. I was going to create a time dilation bubble, while time would have appeared to be passing at a normal rate for us, in fact years would have been able to pass inside the bubble while mere fractions of a second outside the field."

"You weren't going to need that much time though?" Landry asked.

"I was hoping not, my plan was to modify the Odyssey to take it out of phase so that when I shut down the time dilation field the blast wouldn't hit us. I was going to have to recreated some of Merlin's out of phase technology but that was the plan. It wasn't going to take long, obviously…" she gestured to Teal'c.

"How long did it take?" Vala asked slowly.

"Fifty years." The jaffa answered.

Jaws dropped and Cam spoke next.

"Fifty years," he repeated.

"Indeed,"

"Sam?" he turned to the blonde who smiled weakly at him.

"I'm so glad you came back!" Vala exclaimed, getting up and hugging Teal'c "I would have gone _crazy!"_

Teal'c merely blinked and waited for Vala to release him which she did and with a sheepish clearing of her throat retook her seat.

"So…" Daniel put the conversation back on track.

"Colonel Carter discovered shortly after the field was created her original plan did not allow enough time for this ship to be taken out of phase. Vala Maldoran suggested reversing time."

Vala grinned at Daniel and pointed at herself happily, Daniel rolled his eyes at her.

"Colonel Carter did not believe it would work, however she discovered a way to reverse time in a localised field and she sent me here, to prevent the same thing happening again."

"And Kaylee…" Cam reminded him.

Any emotion that might have flickered to life in Teal'c eyes was immediately shuttered off "Kaylee," he said her name slowly as if the urge to say her last name as well was one he had to work to suppress "was injured,"

"How?" Sam urged "what happened to her?"

"Kaylee was in the engine room. There was an explosion." He got to his feet.

"Teal'c," Daniel said earnestly "we need more than that,"

Teal'c fixed him with an apologetic look before leaving the briefing room. He didn't look back and the other occupants of the room were left staring at one another in confusion.

_Author's Notes: A little short I know but it's there okay? Lol_


	5. Super Doc

_Disclaimer: Tiny bit of script from 'Unending' at the end of this chapter but I think that's to be the last of the script in this fiction :D Read and enjoy… hopefully._

_Author's Notes: __I seem to be on a bit of an updating spree, I'm writing more in the past couple of days than I have in months! I doubt it'll last when I check how much homework I have to do!!_

Chapter 4: Super Doc

"Sarah I need epinephrine, morphine and novacain needles on stand by." Carolyn said as the gurney bearing Kaylee hurtled into the infirmary "Jo get me an IV." Taking hold of the sheet and another nurse did the same "three, two, one and lift."

Once she was on the bed Carolyn brushed the knotted curls back away from the little girl's face and placed pads on her forehead gently. Checked the connection to the wires and flicked a heart monitor, "we need to get her into surgery," she took the saline bag and IV needle from Jo and sent the nurse scurrying off again.

"She had morphine about two hours ago. She went into cardiac arrest three times and respiratory a further twice. Epinephrine administered on site." Sam reported with alarming ease and without having to really think about it.

"How much?"

"10 CCs,"

Carolyn nodded, glancing at the monitors only briefly "let's get her into surgery people," she raised the rails on the bed, and with the help of two nurses started pushing it towards the operating theatre.

* * *

The buzz of the air conditioning was the only sound aside from the heavy sighs of his comrades in the corridor outside the infirmary. Daniel looked up at Sam and smiled in thanks as she passed him a cup of coffee, before settling back into her chair and closing her eyes as she resumed the steady wait for news.

Sipping his drink he resisted his urge to pointlessly shake his head to try and rid it of the droning beep that imprinted itself onto his memory. The blood that stained the sheets of the Odyssey's infirmary bed and his hands was thick and painted his eyelids should he lower them. She was so small, so… broken.

He looked down when he heard a faint noise from the woman sat on the floor at his feet, she reached for his mug and he handed it to her without putting up a fight, rolling his eyes when Mitchell smirked at him.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" Vala asked, handing the mug back to him once she'd had her fill.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

As if on cue Carolyn came out, her latex gloves bloody as she pulled them off and lowered her mask "she's stable," she sighed in relief.

"And?" Vala got to her feet.

"I don't know,"

"Doc?" Cam prompted.

"The blood loss was phenomenal." She looked at Sam "without you she wouldn't have made it,"

Sam nodded, brushing aside the compliment; after all, that feat was a useless one if the child didn't survive.

"What exactly happened to her?" she said, her stern gaze flicking from person to person before finally settling on focussing on the whole team.

"There was an explosion," Teal'c repeated what he had said earlier.

"And?" Carolyn said, obviously not amused by his reluctance to reveal any more information.

"I cannot tell you more," he sounded pained and Carolyn almost faltered at the sadness in his eyes as he turned and walked away.

She sighed "could you at least tell me where she was when it happened?"

Sam watched him retreat until he rounded the corner and could not be seen anymore.

"Anyone?" Carolyn prompted.

"He said it was in the engine room," Cam answered "if that helps?"

Carolyn nodded as if some of it was starting to make sense "the debris I found lodged in her abdomen supports that," then; "do we have a name?"

The team shook their heads in unison and Carolyn sighed in exasperation before; "you had post mission checks yet?"

"We've been waiting here," Vala answered.

Carolyn nodded, sighing exhaustedly "okay then, let's get them done now,"

* * *

The briefing room was quiet as Landry entered and took his seat at the head of the table; he tried to catch his daughter's eyes but she averted his gaze before he could do so. She chose instead, to study the file in front of her, making an exaggerated point of ensuring that it was perfectly straight and that each page was tucked inside the folder entirely.

"What do we know?" the General said when it became obvious no one else was going to start talking.

Carolyn leant forwards; this part she could do "the girl was admitted to the infirmary at fourteen-hundred hours suffering from blood loss, a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder and various bruises and contusions." She opened the file in front of her, not that she needed to check because she could remember; it had been a long time since she had seen a child so badly injured, and even longer since she had been the chief surgeon operating on one. "In surgery we managed to stop the bleed but she started haemorrhaging… she's stable now and should be coming round soon; we'll know more then,"

Landry nodded at the meticulous report of the child's injuries "any ideas what her name is?"

The question was met with silence.

"Teal'c," Sam implored "please,"

The jaffa observed his long-time friend carefully, her blue eyes were round and pleading and whilst he knew any information about the future could ultimately create a paradox or any other great number of horrific things, he wasn't sure what could possibly be worse than having to see that little girl so broken.

After all, they would all find out soon enough, they would all know when Kaylee awoke what her name was… and the girl was five years old, it would be easy enough to parry the cries that would come for her mother and father if it weren't for the fact that her parentage was so painfully obvious.

This was an impossible situation, they would know, there was no way he was going to be able to stop it and it was going to create a whole multitude of problems. If he hadn't stopped off, if hadn't gone to collect the child then none of them would have ever known. He would have been the only one to have to deal with the loss of the little girl and maybe even only for a couple of years until she was actually born… why had he done this?

Because that child, that little girl, _Kaylee _had been such a fundamental part of all their lives, she was adored by all of them and when she had died… a rift had been created for months, years.

There'd been a time when no one had spoken because the words had been useless, Vala would weep for hours in her quarters and Daniel had thrown himself even further into trying to translate the Asguard text. Sam had become even more meticulous, checking things again and again, making sure nothing could go wrong and Mitchell had just been quiet, a pillar of silence, of unspoken questions and the useless human trait of asking 'what if' had haunted Teal'c's mind ever since. That's why he'd gone back. Because Kaylee's face had been the first they had all seen every day, the first name they thought of, the first voice they wished they could hear.

He rarely acted on his emotions because that was not what jaffa did, they were warriors, they did as they were told, they did what was needed. They did not follow impulse or act out of love or passion because that was not controlled and everything in a jaffa's life had to be controlled; to survive you had to be in control for if you were not then that's when lives were lost.

But that philosophy had been dis-proven by the death of Kaylee Jackson and he had done the one thing he knew even as he'd done it he shouldn't. He'd saved her. He'd gone back and brought her to this time. This time where she should not exist, her name should not be uttered. But he'd done it because he loved her, as he loved Vala Mal Doran, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell. They were family.

Logically it was a mistake bringing her back because it had been a possibility that she would still be born and none of them would be the wiser as to what had happened in the timeline he had returned from. But that didn't mean he regretted bringing her here, he could still feel the swell of elation in his chest from when Doctor Lam had come out of the infirmary and announced "she's stable."

However with that elation came the nauseating notion that he had changed the future, and the present and that Kaylee would forever be the paradox, she did not exist in this time, she had no right too but she did, her birthday was two years from now, the day she first walked, nearly four years… how was he supposed to explain that to the child that was his niece in every way but biology?

"Teal'c?" Daniel prompted; his voice soft and breaking through the reverie the jaffa had lost himself in.

"Her name is Kaylee," he informed them; he'd done it, he'd said it, she was becoming real in this timeline, sewing herself into the lives of all the people here.

"Kaylee," Vala said as Carolyn noted it down in her file "I like that name,"

Teal'c nodded and gave the grinning brunette a small smile; that was precisely what she had said when Daniel had suggested it during what Sam had referred to as the 'third trimester'.

When another, albeit much more comfortable silence followed, Landry interrupted it "is Kaylee going to make it?"

Carolyn looked at him "I don't know. As I said she's stable but she suffered a lot of injuries, and the amount of blood she lost was…" she paused, trailing off because seeing blood is awful, seeing it pumping from an adult's body is horrible, but seeing it soaking a preschooler is nauseating and that tiny flutter on the heart monitor is the only thing that stops you from just staring at the fluid, and crying because it's wrong, so very wrong that someone so small, so young should be so brutally injured.

Landry nodded "the damage the Odyssey received during the fire fight with the Ori ships is being repaired and the Asguard power core is being studied as they do so; Colonel Carter if you wish to help in the analysis then if you could report to my office at 0800 tomorrow morning,"

Sam nodded and the team rose to their feet as the General retreated back to his office; no one moved, each lost to their own thoughts until the sound of Landry's phone ringing jerked them out of their thoughts.

* * *

The SGC's equivalent to the ICU was quiet when she left, there was a soft rhythmic 'beep-pause-beep' of the heart monitor that unless you can fully comprehend how plain _awful_ it is _not _hearing that sound you just assume is irritating, but other than that it had been quiet, peaceful.

"Hey," Carolyn said softly when she approached the bed and saw that a pair of bright blue eyes watching her with an intense scrutiny as she checked her IV line and made a note of the readings on the monitors.

The girl said nothing.

"How're you feeling?"

"Not s'posed to talk to strangers," she whispered and it's more likely that the pitch of her voice is so low because if this rule than because her throat hurts but Carolyn wouldn't be surprised; they'd had to intubate at one point and she's seen grown men wince with the pain that causes afterwards.

Carolyn smiled and crouched down so as to be on eye level with her patient "My name's Carolyn," she said softly "what's yours?" she already knew but it might not scare the child so much if she was the one to volunteer the information.

"Kaylee," she croaked and Carolyn reached for the cup of ice chips on the stand next to the bed.

"That's a pretty name," the doctor complimented, spooning an ice chip from the little plastic cup "try sucking on that for a little while, it might help your throat,"

Kaylee looked sceptical, if such a thing was possible, but didn't open her mouth, lips pressed firmly together.

"I'm a doctor Kaylee; do you know what a doctor is?"

"You make people better," she replied softly "but 'm not sick,"

"No," Carolyn said agreeably "but you're very badly hurt,"

Kaylee nodded and opened her mouth to let Carolyn spoon an ice chip onto her tongue. She seemed to grow bored of letting it melt and the doctor could not hide the wince at the noise caused by the girl crunching the ice between her teeth.

"'m in trouble," she whispered, her eyes were sparkling and the fingers of the arm that was both in cast and strapped to her chest to try and restrict any movement that might jar the just recently re-located shoulder socket.

"Trouble?" Carolyn brushed the unruly curls aside "honey, why would you be in trouble?"

"Meant to stay in bed, but I wasn't tired," the tears created tracks down her cheeks, some getting caught in the butterfly strips across the laceration on the side of her face – forty-three stitches all together, forty-three stitches and she was only three-foot-two. Forty-three stitches holding her together… that was _wrong_. "Went 'sploring," her eyes grew wide and her mouth morphed into a little 'o' shape "uh oh," she mumbled "I busted the whoosh part,"

"Shh," Carolyn coaxed, still stroking the child's hair "no one's mad at you,"

"They're gonna be, I made the whoosh part go boom!" her sobs were heartbreaking and she was shaking so much Carolyn could feel the tremors moving up her arm "Car'lyn make the hurt go 'way,"

She could think of nothing else to say but checked her watch, they were pushing it for time but she needed it, because if all being conscious was doing was allowing Kaylee to work herself into a state then she needn't be awake at all for a little while. She needed to rest and then she could heal; then they could ask questions. Carolyn stood up and took the canister from the nurse who handed it to her, removing the cap and gently releasing another shot of morphine into Kaylee's IV line she waited until the girl's breathing had evened out before leaving her to sleep.

* * *

Teal'c's quarters were lit with candles as usual, the jaffa did not seem to like using the mains power in his living space and Vala found herself pacing, casting sparing glances at the shadows that flitted up the walls and across the ceiling as she did so.

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed coming to an exasperated halt next to the bed; Teal'c was reclined on the mattress, a book in his hand, eyes darting from one side of the page to the other as he read "it's driving me insane!"

Teal'c said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow as he put his book down and looked at her.

"You know, technically there would be no danger of creating a time paradox because we've already changed the future events, you would not be altering the future by telling us about something that's not going to happen any more,"

Despite the severity of the whole situation Teal'c found himself replying "then why do you care?" he said getting up from the bed and beginning to blow out some of the candles.

"Fifty or sixty years?" she cried, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration "something must have happened. Obviously I hooked up with someone?" she paused, cocking her head to one side "was it you Muscles?"

Teal'c smiled at her and blew out the last of the candles.

"Can't have been Mitchell can it?" she said as he opened the door to his quarters, a stream of light cascading across the room "General Landry?"

He can tell she's following him without having to look and even though his heart his heavy with the prospect of the decisions he has yet to make and the information he has yet to divulge, he is unsure whether to find it saddening or ironic that the person she did 'hook up with' is the last on her list of candidates.

_Author's Notes: There you go, I hope you enjoyed and apologies for the lack of updates :D review if you liked it :P_


End file.
